THEATER:’Six Degrees’ is a skillfully executed production

Normally, I don’t drop in on first tech rehearsals. Having put on a few shows myself, I know I would cringe at the thought of a reviewer attending one of mine just as the actors were getting used to the stage and the lighting.

However, the Gallimaufry Arts Festival’s production of “Six Degrees of Separation� falls into a special category.

Due to scheduling limitations, it’s only on stage this weekend and director Steve Josephson asked me if I could take a look at the show Monday so that it could be mentioned in today’s edition. It was a wise move.

The John Guare drama, even in its incomplete stage, is a stunning and skillfully executed production which is worthy of considerably more exposure than this weekend’s three-day engagement in the Forum Theater on Laguna’s Festival of Arts grounds.

Naturally, there were a few technical gaffes Monday — with a plethora of lighting cues to wrestle with, the first time through can hardly be expected to approach perfection.

But the performances, especially in the front ranks, are compelling and articulate. Guare’s tale of a young, black con artist who convinces an upscale couple that he’s the son of Sidney Poitier and worms his way into their hearts — and escapes with little more than a night’s hospitality — shatters the proverbial “fourth wall� of theater.

Company members are seated in the front row, handing props and costumes to the actors on stage, while narrative portions of the play are delivered directly to the audience.

Flan (David Stoneman) and his wife Ouisa (Julie Gibson Josephson) are anticipating a multi-million dollar art deal when the stranger (Damien Xavier Johnson) stumbles, bleeding, into their lives.

From this point, the phrase “talks a good game� takes on new meaning as Johnson’s character charms the couple and their billionaire South African guest (Roderick H. Harron).

When the young man’s fraudulent actions are revealed, the incident drives a wedge between Stoneman, who’s ready to prosecute, and Josephson, who makes an impassioned plea for leniency.

Her aching phone conversation with Johnson near the play’s end is particularly mesmerizing.

Another couple who share a similar experience with “young Poitier� are nicely enacted by Kym Sawtelle and Gary Krantz.

Aimee Karlin and Travis Judd Hollister are particularly convincing as the college student children of Flan and Ouisa, while Andrew Ruesch is arresting as the vindictive son of another victim (Morris Ossias).

“Six Degrees of Separation� is the final element in a series of five offered in the Gallimaufry Arts Festival, an ambitious program of drama, dance and music played out throughout Laguna Beach and its environs.

It’s well deserving of a permanent venue and an extended performance schedule.